One of topics commonly discussed in corvid fora and question frequently asked is what to feed crows, usually referring to birds in the wild, but also to birds cared for in captivity or during rehabilitation. One of the most frequent answers given is that the name carrion crow is a giveaway, and that crows would eat, who would have guessed, almost exclusively any type of carrion.
However, when looking through findings of scientific studies about feeding habits of corvids, confirmed and enriched by individual experiences of corvid rescues and rehabbers, it becomes evident that this answer is not exactly true and would in fact suggest an unhealthy and unbalanced diet.
It is with great sadness that we have to announce the loss of our jackdaw Moby.
Moby came to us in September 2016 as an adult jackdaw, who has been at the time observed by members of the public hiding in the undergrowth and being unable to fly for more than three weeks. After we have been informed of her situation, we luckily managed to catch Moby the following day.
Jack is a two year old imprinted jackdaw, who came to us in March 2017, having shown deficiency signs at the time of admission caused by an insufficient diet. Jack has been raised by his own and kept in a cage with occasional indoor free flight after being found as an orphan. It was only last year, when he has been joined by a fledgling carrion crow. Jack has also suffered of a condition called cross, crooked or scissor beak, in which the top and bottom beaks do not align properly. This can be caused by genetics, an injury or the inability to maintain the beak’s length and shape by normal honing on rocks or other hard surfaces. It is also thought that an improper hand feeding technique and an unbalanced diet play a role in the development of this beak deformity.
A scissor beak needs frequent trimming, which has been done in Jack’s case carefully and gradually in several short sessions to allow the beak to regrow and reshape into a ‘normal beak’. However, this is not always possible and the success as well as relapse rate depends on many factors. In Jack’s case this has been achieved and the beak is now ‘maintenance free’ for more than three months. Apart from a balanced diet, it is also important to provide any bird with the means to ‘use’ the beak sufficiently, to enable the bird to strengthen the facial muscles and to allow natural wear and tear. Rotten tree stems, pebbles, bricks, rocks, shells, wooden toys, cuttle fish bone and marrow bone dog biscuits are only a few of suitable toys and tools, which help to keep a beak in a good shape and a jackdaw well entertained. Achieving the ‘perfect’ shape of the beak through trimming is obviously important and the prerequisite to solve the scissor beak problem. However, if a scissor beak persist for long, muscles will get atrophic, meaning they become shorter than normal, which can pull even a well shaped beak out of alignment resulting in the beak to continue to grow in an asymmetric fashion. This is why all beak trimming sessions do also involve some degree of physiotherapy to counteract problems caused by muscle atrophy.
Kojak, a nestling jackdaw, has been brought to us after being found on the ground, for reasons unknown to us. He might have been the runt of the brood, thrown out of the nest by his own kind, but he was lucky enough to have been found and rescued by a very kind and compassionate person. However, we have also learned over the past weeks, where we had the privilege to care for him and to get to know each other, that being the runt doesn’t mean at all that the bird concerned doesn’t want to live. Kojak has got the spirit of a fighter, whilst also being a very gentle and loyal soul.
He came to us almost dead with signs of severe dehydration, starvation, and malnutrition with poor plumage development and splay legs. Kojak’s leg muscles where severely atrophic, which made it impossible for him to stand up properly, to walk or to keep his balance. Due to a severe electrolyte imbalance caused by dehydration and starvation, he developed seizures and other neurological symptoms. After days of intensive treatment, sleepless nights and a life-threatening relapse, we eventually managed to stabilise his condition, which was the crucial moment when things started to improve. But not without Kojak’s help and strong will. We would not have been able to save his life without his own determination and help.
Kojak was determined to get stronger, to walk and to fly. Thanks to his healthy appetite, and a specially designed diet, he started to put on weight and to become stronger allowing him to exercise. And that is what he did. He was exercising and practising all day long until he was strong enough to stand up and to walk. He exercised his flight muscles until he was able to lift off. But he didn’t do all this alone. He was inspired and helped by another patient, a jay nestling we named Alita, who came to us as a very poorly orphan as well, and was of roughly the same age as Kojak. Both birds got on very well and soon ventured out together to explore their outdoor rehabilitation and recuperation aviary, encouraging each other to take on the next hurdle.
Then the time came for Alita to say good-bye, to get her second chance in life and to be soft released. It took Alita a while to make up her mind, but eventually she left. She still visits the area and occasionally her old friend. Both birds seemingly knew that from now on they have to look forward, into their very own futures, after having spent a short but important period of time together, a period of time which helped both birds to find their place in their respective worlds. By accident, at almost the same time a new patient came to us, a juvenile jackdaw we named Benno, who suffered a badly fractured wing. And within a few days, both birds bonded, almost as they would have waited for each other.
Kojak’s journey hasn’t come to an end yet, as he still has got some smaller issues to overcome. But since we know him now that well, we are confident that these issues should not be a problem for him, in particular not with the help of his partner Benno. All it needs is time, trust, love and determination.
